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Qatar is the ‘most peaceful’ place to live DOHA • Qatar ranks as one of the most peaceful countries in the world, based on the Global Peace Index released by Britain's Economist Intelligence Unit recently.
The Global Peace Index ranked Qatar 33rd out of 140 countries and is second out of 18 countries in the middle east only behind Oman (25) and ahead of UAE (42), Kuwait (45), Bahrain (74) and Saudi Arabia (108).
The index, now in its second year, ranks 140 countries according to their relative states of peace, based on factors such as military expenditure and respect for human rights.
However, do the residents believe that Qatar is one of the most peaceful countries to live? The Peninsula spoke to a cross section of the community yesterday to know their experience of living in Qatar.
Louis K George, salesman at Toshiba in Carrefour-City Center, agrees that Qatar is one of the most peaceful countries though he has been staying here for just four months. He observed that there is markedly less number of crimes in the country compared to other states.
"Maybe because people here are much more disciplined and they respect the law," George said.
"After my fourteen-month stay in Qatar, I can say that it is peaceful. The reason is that it is a small country with a small population and therefore fewer crimes," said Mohammad Ali, who is familiar with Qatar since he drives people to their destinations in his limousine.
"The main reason for the peace we enjoy in this country is the fact that people come here to work and earn money. Lack of money forces people to commit crimes," he added.
"Unlike other countries, there is no terrorism in Qatar," was the response of Rohan Saman Kumar, who works with Man Enterprise, a contracting company.
Kumar felt terrorism is one of the major hindrances to world peace.
Omar Ahmad, a Saudi national asserted that Qatar is not only one of the peaceful countries in the world but also one of the best places to live because of its myriad wonderful features, with more still to come. "Everything is here," he said.
"Qatar is peaceful since it has people who are educated," a Filipino resident commented.
He believes that education is a key factor in maintaining peace and order in any country.
Qatar received a favourable score in the Global Peace Index for its “level of violent crime” and is ahead of western superpowers like France, UK and America in the list. But it slipped one point from the 2007 ranking. Source: The Peninsula Released: 08 Jul 2008 |
